This invention relates generally to anti-friction bearings and more particularly to a unitized sealed thrust bearing assembly.
Angular contact thrust bearings designed to carry high, axially directed thrust loads may be manufactured economically from stamped annular metal races which are heat treated with the confronting curvilinear raceways thereof left unground. It is necessary to seal the races to retain the lubricant, and it is desirable to create a unitized assembly in which the races are held together prior to incorporation of the bearing into some other assembly.
The patent to Greene Jr. et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,543 shows an angular contact thrust bearing for a McPherson type strut in which an elastomeric sealing lip on the inner edge of one race snaps over the inner edge of the other race to both seal the inner edges of the two races and to retain the races together as a unitized assembly. In some applications, however, it is desirable to have a bearing in which one of the angular races has an axially extending cylindrical flange at the inner edge thereof which extends for the entire axial thickness of the bearing assembly to provide an unobstructed metal tunnel at the center of the bearing assembly. It is not possible with such an assembly to have an elastomeric lip engage this central tunnel without obstructing it. It is known to unitize such an assembly with a separate metal ring which is press fitted around the cylindrical flange and seats against a sealing lip on the other race to prevent the races from separating. It is desirable from the standpoint of manufacturing ease to eliminate the separate ring.